starvation mode?

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judykat7
judykat7 Posts: 576 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am sick and not much appetite. Running about a 500 calorie deficit - how long before this starvation mode that I hear about kicks in?

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  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
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    You will be fine. Eat when you can to nourish yourself. Feel better soon.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    i never understood starvation mode. if there really were such a thing then how is that people have died of starvation?
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,735 Member
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    ok, i'll bite...

    starvation mode is a myth, at least for most people here. starvation mode is what happens when you have a very low BF% and you eat at a significant deficit for many weeks or months. basically, think of that happened to the poor souls at Auschwitz and that's what starvation mode looks like.

    now, you can slow down your metabolism before that, but the jury is out on how much. women with ED or those who have spent years yo-yo-ing with diets can do this to themselves, but it is something that can be overcome.

    in order to know what's going on with you, we'd need to know your BMR/TDEE and some additional information about the amount of exercise and activity you engage in on a daily/weekly basis.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    It would take months for it to be a problem. Eat what you can and feel better soon.
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
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    500 calorie deficit? That's about a pound a week loss and right where you want to be. What's this starvation mode you speak of?
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
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    3 days.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    With a 500 cal deficit, you really do not have to worry about starvation mode no matter what interpretation put on it - you are supposed to be at that type of deficit

    Or are you saying that you are 500 calories under your target that already has a deficit built in?
  • judykat7
    judykat7 Posts: 576 Member
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    thank you
  • judykat7
    judykat7 Posts: 576 Member
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    I am saying that according to MFP I should eat 1200 calories a day plus my daily exercise calories and I am managing to eat about 700. I am new and not sure what I am doing-trying to learn
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,735 Member
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    I am saying that according to MFP I should eat 1200 calories a day plus my daily exercise calories and I am managing to eat about 700. I am new and not sure what I am doing-trying to learn

    if you're averaging 700 calories per day, you are on a bad path.

    listen to sarauk2sf.

    she'll get you back on track.
  • Bobby__Clerici
    Bobby__Clerici Posts: 741 Member
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    I am sick and not much appetite. Running about a 500 calorie deficit - how long before this starvation mode that I hear about kicks in?
    This is a crude way of referring to a stifled metabolism.
    You can tell when it kicks in when your results cease.
    Just track your progress and follow MFP recommendations.
    Good Luck!
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    I am saying that according to MFP I should eat 1200 calories a day plus my daily exercise calories and I am managing to eat about 700. I am new and not sure what I am doing-trying to learn

    If you are sick - don't worry about it too much, eat as well as you can and focus on getting better. You will not have any issues at all if it is short term.

    How long have you been on 700 cals for? What did you set your weight loss goal per week at? 1lb a week?
  • teresa0331
    teresa0331 Posts: 14 Member
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    I believe she is referring to the "warning" that appears in red beneath your daily food entries when you haven't met your minimum calories (the minimum calorie target for losing weight). So, this is beneath the recommended daily minimum for weight loss.

    I'm no health guru, but I have personally experienced times when I cut way too many calories out of my diet and then the weight loss stopped happening as quickly. It has been explained to me that starvation mode is when your body adjusts and slows the caloric burn down because it "thinks" it needs to protect you from starvation and that it needs to conserve fat, etc.

    Again, this is just my understanding of it. I'm sure if you google your question, you may be able to find solid advice/information from health/nutritional professionals.

    Eat what you can for the moment and feel better soon!
  • george29223
    george29223 Posts: 556 Member
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    starvation mode is a myth ...now on the other hand nom nom nom nom mode is very real my friend very real
  • Beautiful_Disaster108
    Beautiful_Disaster108 Posts: 56
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    Your metabolism would slow down if you did it for a good while but the whole starvation mode this is a huge myth!
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
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    Staravtion mode is an incorrect term for adaptive thermogenesis, which is real, and not a myth at all. Most people here that panic about it think it happens instantly if you eat under a certain calorie level just once, but it is a process.

    and as this was brought up today, I'll link from it again.

    http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/#starvationmode
  • mariamielczarski
    mariamielczarski Posts: 5
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    Never heard of the starvation mode but 500 calories is dangerous. eating healthy is far better than being drastic surely
  • myskinnyfit
    myskinnyfit Posts: 2
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    I starved my self last year, I skipped noon snack and dinner so the last time I ate would be around 1 pm. It made my stomach growled so loud before sleep, but it worked! I lost 20 lbs in less than 3 months. After I felt skinny and fabulous I started to relax, I eat my noon snack and dinner. I ate the sweets and fried foods I hadn't been eating for the last 3 months, and well there the nightmare was, I gained back 10 lbs in 2 months. I felt so depressed but I didn't want to go back to the starvation mode, it's too tiring! So now I'm just gonna combine my noon snack and dinner as an early dinner, and consume the sweets and fried foods once a week in a very little amount so I will cherish every moment of it :)
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
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    Your metabolism would slow down if you did it for a good while but the whole starvation mode this is a huge myth!


    This metabolic slowdown that you are referring to, is what people are referring to when they talk about starvation mode.
  • elsinora
    elsinora Posts: 398 Member
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    I am sick and not much appetite. Running about a 500 calorie deficit - how long before this starvation mode that I hear about kicks in?

    If you are sick and unable to meet your calorie requirements, the slow down in metabolism (however temporary) will only kick in after a long and continual calorific deficit ... not after a week or two.

    If you are sick, and seeing a doctor, then just concentrate on getting better and have nutritionally laden food stuffs, as well as maybe more calorific dense (meaning slightly more calories but in smaller volume)

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